Explore these recent articles on current HR trends and practices.

How aggressive is too aggressive when you're on the job market? Eileen Finn contributed to this excellent April 2009 piece written by Dana Mattioli for the Wall Street Journal.  

In another Wall Street Journal piece by Dana Mattioli from December 2009, Eileen Finn and other recruiting professionals discuss the outlook and trends for expatriates in the jobless U.S. economy.  

This April 2010 article from DiversityInc features an interview with discrimination-law attorney Weldon Latham, who discusses current trends in affirmative action and the future of nondiscriminatory hiring.   

Learn about events and presentations from Eileen Finn & Associates.

		The Chief HR Officer: Defining the New Role of Human Resource Leaders
		Authors: Patrick M. Wright, John Boudreau, David Page, Libby Sartain, Paul McKinnon, and Richard Antoine
		This book provides the most current thinking on the evolving role of the Chief Human Resources Officer. The chapters are each written by either a top CHRO from a Fortune 500 or an academic researcher/practitioner. This book is one of the most thorough guides to the changing role of the top Human Resources Officer. In today's competitive environment, it offers insights into the changing workforce, globalization, an increased regulatory environment and the heightened relationship between the CHRO and CEO. This is a must read for all Human Resources leaders.

		Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life
		Author: Stewart D. Friedman
		In an environment in which personal and professional lives are growing continually closer, Dr. Stewart Friedman presents a field-tested program to provide leaders with solutions for all aspects of life. Focusing on the four realms of work, home, community and the private self, the blueprint challenges traditional ways of thinking to create an all around leader. Total Leadership provides the tools essential to today's leadership needs.

		The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement
		Author: David Brooks
		In his new book, David Brooks explores how we form our emotions and character: the unconscious mind and how it shapes the way we live, love and relate to other people. I found this book immensely readable, and came away with a greater understanding of what motivates certain behaviors. David Brooks is concise, humorous and has an easy-to-read narrative.

		The Ten Faces of Innovation
		Author: Tom Kelley
		Through anecdotal evidence drawn primarily from his time at IDEO, Kelley identifies ten innovative personality types who each play a key role in the success of an organization.  The book is structured around this typology, with an individual chapter devoted to exploring the strengths of each role (such as “the anthropologist” and “the caregiver”).  The Ten Faces of Innovation offers a personalized and well-documented account of the effective power of personality profiling in the workplace, and, in turn, how such profiling can best inform HR decisions and team building.

		Enterprise Risk Management
		Author: James Lam
		Risk management is one of the most prescient matters facing companies as we enter the next decade.  James Lam's book is an invaluable resource on the topic.  In four clear and concise sections, he outlines the context, development, application, and future of risk management.  Throughout the book, he uses current examples of businesses that have thrived (and some that have died) by risk management.  A must-read in today's economy.

		Outliers
		Author: Malcolm Gladwell
		Gladwell's third major book, Outliers, explores the confluence of cultural, historical, and personal phenomena surrounding leaders and innovators throughout history – those individuals who lie outside of the scope of normal human experience (thus the title.) Like his other two books, Gladwell challenges traditional assumptions about greatness and genius, and deconstructs the idea of individual merit.  Outliers invites you to think more openly about the myriad circumstances that contribute to making a successful leader.

		Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
		Author: Malcolm Gladwell
		While not marketed as a book with new perspectives on business strategy – and often critiqued more as a pop psychology book, Blink nevertheless has mass appeal for anyone interested in new ways of approaching decision-making and strategic planning. It's an easy read with relevance to every aspect of our business and personal lives. If you've ever reacted to a “gut” feeling or acted on first impressions, Gladwell validates those decision-making skills that in many of us seem innate.

		The Feiner Points of Leadership
		Author: Michael Feiner
		Michael Feiner's perspective is shaped by three different experiences - as a corporate executive (Chief People Officer at Pepsi), a management consultant and business school professor. The book contains valuable insights into a more practical assessment and development of leadership talent. Michael's "Laws", if practically applied, help make “magic happen” – and he also shares great interview questions to ask as part of the executive talent assessment process.

Topgrading

Author: Bradford D. Smart

Brad Smart recognizes that the best organizations are those that look at human capital as their most valuable asset. In this book, he examines in detail exactly how today's premier organizations have assembled outstanding employees and provides a road map for recruiting and retaining the very top talent available. For several of my clients, this serves as the “Bible” for their recruitment activity.

The Smart Interviewer

Author: Bradford D. Smart

This book provides both business people and human resources professionals with a sound approach for conducting interviews and assessments in order to identify their next hires. The author outlines a simple, elegant technique based on sound psychology and universal management principles and offers a step-by-step approach on planning, conducting and interpreting interviews.

		Costing Human Resources
		Author: Wayne Cascio
		Although this book was published in 1999, the principles are still relevant to today's business environment. The prevalence of outsourcing, off shoring and the growth of a temporary workforce are the results of quantifying human capital in an organization. In 2005, engagement, retention and talent management are areas of focus for human resources leadership to win the “War for Talent.” An excellent and relevant read.

		Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End
		Author: Rosabeth Moss Kanter
		“Leadership” is a hot topic today. But as in every cycle, there are periods of ebb and flow, success and failure, winning and losing. This book speaks to these cycles, pragmatically and holistically. Dr. Kanter not only recognizes the importance of “confidence” on an individual basis, but also that a “culture of confidence” is key in creating winning organizations and future leaders.

Good to Great

Author: Jim Collins

This book speaks about the evolution of culture in an organization. The idea for this book is based on the belief that there are companies that have always been great. But the vast majority of companies – many of my clients and perhaps your employers – have grown from “good to great” through leadership, discipline and a long-term view. His “Hedgehog Concept” is relevant to every organization, and his insights into the ethics of entrepreneurship prove the value of exceptional thinking in management strategy and practice.

Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great

Author: Jim Collins

This monograph, as an addendum to the 2001 Good to Great, speaks to the same organizational issues but for the not-for-profit sector. A short read, it is meant to accompany the larger Good to Great book. Although this is a must for my not-for-profit clients, I would strongly advise everyone to pick this up to familiarize themselves with the constraints and issues prevalent in this sector.